God Hath Spoken

by Harris J. Dark

In our meeting that night I related my experiment and its results. And I said, “Now, don’t think I told those people any better. I thought I’d help you keep the secret!” That’s the principle on which a great many churches work.

Remember that you have not advertised the work of the church when you merely let people know it’s going on. You haven’t advertised it until you make them want a part in it! Everybody in this country knows that the Standard Oil Company has gasoline for sale. If that were the end of advertising, they could discontinue theirs. But that’s not the purpose of it. Their purpose is to make people want Standard gasoline, so they keep on advertising. Too often we think we’ve advertised the church just because people know it’s in existence, but we have not advertised it until we make them want a part in it.

7. Handling the finances. Another little detail that needs careful consideration is the planning of the financial program of the church. There is one important respect in which the finance of the church is different from that of any other organization. I’m not a business man, but I know, nevertheless, that it’s well for a business concern to keep a good surplus on hand. The bigger margin they can keep between their income and their outgo, the better off they are. Consequently the administrators of such businesses endeavor to build up a big bank account; but friends, that’s the worst thing that can happen to a congregation! You cannot get a group of people to give into a treasury that has several thousand dollars in the bank. You cannot get people to give to a church when they know it is not needed.

I got a big surprise a few years ago when I preached in a certain town on the subject of giving. After I’d finished the members began coming to me and saying, “Why there’s no need of telling us about that. We have several thousand dollars in the bank. Why should we give? This congregation doesn’t need any money.”

Recently I held a meeting for another church which had $10,000 in the bank. I didn’t know it, so I preached on giving and got the same reaction. During the rest of that meeting I preached on spending! Before the meeting closed the congregation had plans to start a new congregation in the north end of town. Since I left they have bought a building for $4,500, paid cash for it, and started a new congregation with about fifty or sixty members. They were going to wait until the war was over. I wonder what they would have done in case of the Hundred Years War! That question occurs to me when people talk about postponing church work until after the war is over. We cannot afford to let the Lord’s work wait until the world quits fighting!

It’s essential in reference to the financial program of the church that plans for Scriptural spending be kept right up with, or a little ahead of, the income; because the income is flexible. When the congregation sees an increased need and a growing program, then the contributions will be increased accordingly. I don’t blame people for not giving to a treasury that’s already overflowing. I wouldn’t want to contribute to a church whose leaders would not spend the money that was contributed. I’d find some other avenue through which to contribute. When it is necessary to set aside a fund for a new building, or some other major, anticipated expense, the money should be earmarked and not counted as part of the operating account. The financial program of the church is one of many problems that needs to be given some careful study.

8. Avoiding disappointment. I want to give you another illustration. When I went to a certain town to preach, the ladies, some of whom were even from another congregation, began insisting on having a ladies’ Bible class. They said that the preacher over at this other church wouldn’t have one. I asked why. They answered, “Because it always dies on his hands, and leaves a bad feeling—a feeling of failure.” I replied, “All right, we’ll have one and not let it die. We’re just going to continue it twelve weeks. Then we will be through.”

I planned a twelve-week course. The interest and attendance grew throughout the twelve weeks. Some insisted upon its being continued longer but I said, “No, we may start another one soon, but we’ve finished this one.” You know there’s a big difference between quitting because you’ve finished and quitting because you’ve failed. You can always start again if you think it wise to do so. It is prudent to set a time limit on all activities of the church except those which are essential or already established.

When I was doing missionary work in Richmond, Virginia, I didn’t ask churches to send me “a contribution;” I asked them to send me a definite amount for a definite period of time. Then, when they had promised, they felt obligated to give that much for that length of time. You know, if there isn’t some agreement about the amount and the length of time, people will think, “Well, it’s got to stop sometime and the church has as much right to discontinue it or say when it should be discontinued as the preacher has,” and so after awhile it just plays out. But if a congregation promises to send you $10 a month for twelve months, they are almost certain to do it. That’s just another one of those little details. All such things have to be worked out according to human judgment. They have to be learned by experience and observation. The Bible does not specify them.

I could go on talking like this indefinitely, but all these items are mentioned for illustrative purposes, and to emphasize the one central point I want to drive home tonight. That is, that God has left a field in which he has not made specifications, in which we must make decisions, and those decisions ought to be made thoughtfully. They ought to be made deliberately, and every little detail ought to be studied most carefully, for after all, we are engaged in the greatest work on this earth!